Tag Archives: Technology

MBUG November General MeetingWEDNESDAY, November 8, 2017 – 7:00 to 9:00 pmHilltop Park Center871 Jessie Street, MontereyFREE to MBUG Members and the General Public

As we gather for what may well be the final official general meeting of MBUG-PC, we are fortunate to have one of our outstanding contributors return as the featured speaker. Mike Wecker, owner of Carmel Computers, will lead our discussion at the November general meeting to update us on common computer software and operating issues that are faced by users at all levels of experience, including preventing ransomware intrusion, using various backup techniques, and restoring from an “image” file.

Wecker has been a frequent speaker at MBUG and always provides a valuable and interesting question-and-answer session, presenting problems currently faced by his customers and discussing solutions and strategies. His open-ended approach allows audience members to give their input, so come prepared with your questions! If you want to present questions in advance for the meeting, contact Mike at mwecker@carmelcomputers.com.

Wecker has been operating Carmel Computers in Carmel Valley since April 1999, providing software and hardware sales and repairs and training. Prior to that, he worked with Linda Sandidge at Central Coast Computers in Carmel from 1997-1999, doing sales and tech work, and before that, he was the purchasing manager at PC People from 1994-1997. Always a person with many community activities, he is also the regular Drummer for Paper Wing Theatre.

Originally from Georgia, Mike has spent most of his life in Pacific Grove, Monterey, and Marina, and since 1999, in Cachagua in upper Carmel Valley.

MBUG September General MeetingWEDNESDAY, September 13, 2017 – 7:00 to 9:00 pmHilltop Park Center871 Jessie Street, MontereyFREE to MBUG Members and the General Public

Thoughts on VolunteeringWe start the September 13 meeting with again welcoming Jordan Azevedo, Director of Operations and Programs at Loaves, Fishes, and Computers, and will meet Linda Segovia, LFC’s new Americorps VIP Fellow. They will discuss what LFC’s goals are in the community, what’s new at LFC, and provide details about an opportunity to help seniors receive computers with Meals on Wheels.

Thinking Outside the (Computer) BoxStar Reierson has some thought-provoking and fun TED Talks to present. You think you know how to tie your shoes, right? But Terry Moore has a new take on how to do it, and Star says, “Trust me, you will never tie your shoes again the same way!” Join us and learn this and, as added stimulus, learn how to make the BEST PAPER AIRPLANE based on a technique called The Nakamura Lock.

Artificial Intelligence, Now and FutureJames Young will present the TED Talk on “Can we build AI without losing control over it?” Watch what neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris has to say about AI. It is something to think about, with where technology is today, and on into the future. As robotics impinge more and more on our daily lives, we face deep issues of ethics and control.

Note: Please see Star’s column on page 3 of the Newsletter. We hope you will attend and enjoy this (probably) next to last MBUG general meeting.

MBUG July General MeetingWEDNESDAY, July 12, 2017 – 7:00 to 9:00 pmHilltop Park Center871 Jessie Street, MontereyFREE to MBUG Members and the General Public

Do you use one or more devices to read digital books, newspapers, magazines, or the news? Here is a chance to compare devices and ask questions to help optimize usage or perhaps make a decision for a future purchase.

At the July 12 general meeting, MBUG President Jeff Helms, whose day job is as an electronics technician for the National Weather Service, will give a presentation about e-readers. He will discuss various readers, their different formats, and conversion programs. He will also demonstrate Calibre, an e-book manager, and, as time allows, will discuss related apps and sources for free audio books. So bring your devices, prepare to ask questions, and participate by sharing problems and experiences.

For more information and questions in advance, contact Helms at jeffro270@gmail.com.

MBUG May General MeetingWEDNESDAY, May 10, 2017 – 7:00 to 9:00 pmHilltop Park Center871 Jessie Street, MontereyFREE to MBUG Members and the General Public

For our May general meeting, we welcome a team led by Carlos Lopez, sales manager, along with Mark Rebolledo, tech supervisor, from Staples in Seaside as our presenters. They will be reviewing the range of issues presented to the technical services desk at Staples, like recent virus attacks, typical scams, and spam. They will show us how to close the browser when the screen freezes and tells you “YOU ARE INFECTED WITH THE ZEUS VIRUS. Do not attempt to reboot your machine. Call xxx-xxx-xxxx immediately.”

Carlos and Mark will showcase the new, exciting products like Liquid-Armour and Whoosh! sanitizer that can be used on your phone or laptop (even the touch screen!). They may even be able to demonstrate the revolutionary range expander called Orbi.

The Staples spent ink cartridge recycling program has helped to fund our educational programs for many years (see item on page 11). We now include Staples on our page of MBUG Supporters (see page 9) and welcome the new store general manager, Jimmy Torres. For more information or follow-up, Carlos, Mark, and Jimmy can be reached at 831-393-2102, or email jimmy.torres@staples.com.

MBUG November General MeetingWEDNESDAY, November 9, 2016 – 7:00 to 9:00 pmHilltop Park Center871 Jessie Street, MontereyFREE to MBUG Members and the General Public

For our November general meeting, we welcome a team led by Carlos Lopez, sales manager, along with Mark Rebolledo, tech supervisor, from Staples in Seaside as our presenters.

Wondering what to buy for people who have everything? Prepare to attend and make a list! This is our yearly meeting where we get to hear about interesting devices and new products to buy. Lopez says he will “bring goodies” to demo some good holiday gifts. For example, you may have heard about Liquid-Armour, a currently hot item that utilizes nano coating technology, which can protect all touch screens—come and hear the discussion!

The Staples ink cartridge recycling program has helped to fund our educational programs for many years (see item on Newsletter page 11). We now include Staples on our page of MBUG Supporters (see Newsletter page 9) and welcome new store general manager Michael Williams. For more information or follow-up, he can be emailed at michael.williams2@staples.com.

MBUG March General MeetingWEDNESDAY, March 9, 2016 – 7:00 to 9:00 pmHilltop Park Center871 Jessie Street, MontereyFREE to MBUG Members and the General Public

At the March 9 general meeting, our speaker will be Jeffrey Fisher, who is a volunteer instructor in the Computer Technology Center at The Carmel Foundation.

To start, Fisher will “walk around” the outside of the iPad, discussing all of the buttons. Next, he will discuss the Home screen, what it represents, and how to customize it to the user’s desire. Then he will spend some time in the Settings App. From there, he will explore the App Store, iBooks, and the camera feature, and maybe some other Apps. Finally, he will spend some time on Siri and the Del Monte Apple store.

Bring your iPad to the meeting if you have one; if you don’t already have one, this presentation may help you determine if you want or need one.

Fisher says he likes to be informal, so there will be ample time to ask questions, and you may also share your own war stories about the Apple experience.

Fisher was a math major at San Diego State University and spent six years at Burroughs as a programmer and systems engineer. He also has thirty-one years at Hewlett-Packard as a field software/systems rep, did pre/post-sales support, acted as a project manager for his clients’ larger projects, and wrote Linux classes for internal training of HP’ers and customers. He was Tech Support Manager for six years at HP SoCal regional offices, finally retiring six years ago.

For questions in advance, contact Fisher at jeffreyfisher59@gmail.com.

MBUG November General MeetingWEDNESDAY, November 11, 2015 – 7:00 to 9:00 pmCanterbury Room, Canterbury Woods651 Sinex Avenue, Pacific GroveFREE to MBUG Members and the General Public

Are PCs becoming obsolete? Many people find they are using their smartphones almost exclusively for many tasks previously done on their PCs. A recent report from Kleiner Perkins (venture capitalist in Menlo Park who invests in information technologies) shows that smartphones now exceed PCs for everyday Internet usage.

Smartphones allow you to do almost everything a PC can do—and they can make calls as well. Are smartphones replacing tablets? Will smart phones themselves be replaced in the next revolution of computer development? At the November meeting, MBUG Board member Norma Dunipace will discuss these issues and present some survey results on how people today are using their PCs and their smart phones.

The presentation will include how computers have evolved and some statistics about where we are today. What do current users expect from their computers/Internet devices? Are personality traits of the next generation partially driving the development? What do the experts such as Walt Mossberg think? Is there technology available that allows us to turn our smartphones into mini PCs and use them for productivity work?

Norma Dunipace retired in 2007 as Manager of Technology Licensing and Industry Sponsored Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Her computer use includes a desktop, a couple of laptops, an iPad, and an iPhone, and she writes “I am not a computer expert, but I need them to do the things that interest me. I find I am doing more and more on my phone simply because it is convenient.”

Looking to the future, Dunipace notes that although membership in MBUG is still strong, it has been declining and aging in recent years and that Club Mac of Monterey has ceased to operate; she asks, “Should we broaden our interests?” This promises to be an interesting discussion that has implications for MBUG’s direction in the coming year. Come join us!